Warehousing and distribution run on variable demand, which makes rostering both an operational puzzle and an area of genuine employment law risk. Several provisions were introduced specifically to address practices common in this kind of work.
Availability provisions
An employment agreement can require an employee to be available for work beyond their guaranteed hours only if:
- The agreement contains guaranteed hours of work;
- The availability provision relates to a period additional to those guaranteed hours;
- The employer has genuine reasons based on reasonable grounds for requiring availability; and
- Reasonable compensation is paid for that availability.
Where those requirements are not met, the employee may refuse the additional work without consequence.
Zero-hour arrangements — no guaranteed hours combined with a requirement to be available — are not lawful. Genuine casual employment, where there is no obligation on either side, remains available but must actually operate that way.
Shift cancellation
Where an agreement allows shifts to be cancelled, it must specify a reasonable notice period and the compensation payable if that notice is not given.
If the agreement does not address cancellation, the employee is entitled to what they would have earned for the shift.
This is worth checking, because operations that regularly stand people down when a container is delayed frequently have no compliant mechanism for doing so.
Secondary employment
An agreement can restrict an employee from working for someone else only where there is a genuine reason based on reasonable grounds relating to the business, and the reason must be stated in the agreement.
Blanket prohibitions without a stated reason are not enforceable, which matters for part-time warehouse staff who may hold more than one job.
Fatigue and shift design
Fatigue is a hazard under the Health and Safety at Work Act, and warehouse work combines it with forklifts and racking.
What the evidence supports:
- Forward-rotating shifts (morning to afternoon to night) are tolerated better than backward rotation.
- Predictable rosters published well in advance allow people to organise sleep and life, and are among the most valued things an employer can offer.
- Limits on consecutive night shifts, with adequate recovery afterwards.
- Adequate breaks, taken rather than nominal.
- Attention to the early hours, where alertness is lowest and incident rates rise.
Rest and meal breaks are a statutory entitlement, with the number and duration depending on hours worked. In operations under pressure, breaks are frequently the first thing to erode.
Peak season
Distribution has predictable peaks. Managing them well involves recruiting temporary staff early rather than relying on overtime, because a workforce running sustained long hours through a peak has a rising incident risk precisely when volumes are highest.
Fixed-term agreements for peak work need a genuine reason based on reasonable grounds, stated in the agreement. Where the requirements are not met, the employment is treated as permanent.
Labour hire and overlapping duties
Where you use labour hire, both the agency and your business hold health and safety duties. Each must consult, cooperate and coordinate.
In practice the site operator controls the hazards, so site induction, training on your equipment, and supervision are your responsibility regardless of who pays the worker. Labour hire staff are over-represented in injury statistics, largely because they are unfamiliar with the site.
Records
Wage and time records are a legal requirement and are the evidence in any dispute about hours, breaks or availability compensation. Rostering systems that record planned shifts but not actual hours worked do not satisfy this.
The coming leave change
The Employment Leave Act moves annual and sick leave to hours-based accrual from an employee’s first day, with a 12.5 percent upfront payment in lieu on casual and additional hours. Implementation runs to 2028, with the Holidays Act applying until then.
For operations with large casual and variable-hours workforces, this is a significant simplification and a payroll project. Start the conversation with your provider now.
Employment New Zealand publishes guidance on availability provisions, breaks and hours, and WorkSafe publishes fatigue and warehouse safety material. Both free.
General information only, not legal advice.
